The Bermuda Union of Teachers has thrown a spanner into the Education Ministry's plans to appoint deputy principals to Cedarbridge Academy this week.

The Royal Gazette understands the union has filed a grievance against the Ministry's method of hiring teachers for new posts in the restructured school system.

The Ministry, which earlier this year declared all teaching posts in high schools vacant to create new posts for the senior secondary and middle schools, introduced a competency test after 17 people applied for three deputy principal posts at Cedarbridge Academy.

One part of the test dealt with occupational personality, while the other dealt with aptitude.

The Education Department's senior manager of Human Resources Ray Latter earlier explained the test -- from the Personnel Services Department -- was the only way the Department could short-list the applicants and ensure the best people for the jobs were hired.

Applicants will also be selected based on their curriculum vitae, a letter explaining why they were best for the posts, and interviews.

Mr. Latter said the Ministry expected to complete the selection process for the deputy principal posts by today.

Work on selecting team leaders and heads of departments within the senior and middle schools was also underway, he added, and expected to be completed before November 11 when annual leadership training with principals and top administration staff was scheduled to begin.

But at least one teacher -- Northlands deputy principal Randolph Benjamin -- has objected.

And BUT organiser Milton Scott yesterday said the union had filed a grievance on September 27 and expected the matter to go to arbitration.

The union claimed the Department made an error in establishing the posts by breaching the terms of agreement under which teachers were employed.

And in making the error, the union argued, the Department jeopardised the livelihood of Mr. Benjamin and other teachers.

While preferring to reserve further comment until after the arbitration, Sen.

Scott said the Department would be making a mockery of the process if it proceeded to appoint people to the new positions before arbitration had been completed.

Mr. Latter yesterday confirmed the Department was "not going to announce the posts tomorrow''. However, he declined to say whether three deputy principals had been chosen.

Responding to earlier criticism from Mr. Benjamin on the length of time it had taken the BUT to get back to him, Sen. Scott said the grievance procedure had clearly set out time periods. And the Education Department responded within the required time, ten school days from the date the grievance had been filed.

UNIONS UNS